Gather 'round and hear my tale of my first night voyaging in the Forsaken Shores in the game Sea of Thieves.
I was sailing on a two-man sloop doing a Gold Hoarder mission in the Forsaken Shores (red maps, nice touch), when my shipmate had to call it a night. Since there were a couple hostile brigantines in the area, we decided to sail out to Galleon's Grave Outpost to sell our booty before he logged off.
Alone, I decided I might as well try to finish out the voyage, since there were only one or two islands left, so I set sail. On my way to the Forsaken Brink, I passed near a volcano that went active. I started getting close to my island, so I started to pull up on the sail, when— WHAM! a fiery boulder hit my ship. It didn't do much damage to me, but it was enough to knock me off of the rigging. I went to check on the damage, and WHAM! my ship was hit again. Peeking down into the hold, I saw my hull filling with water, and decided I had better put a stop to it before I sank.
I repaired my little boat and bailed out the water, then got back up to the helm, only to find that I was still moving fast and about to run smack into the rocks of my island destination. I hit the anchor and managed to skid to a stop, with my bow scraping against the rocks. I go down below. One hole in the bow. Could've been a lot worse. I start to patch it up, and— WHAM! another hit from the nearby volcano. Took a bit of a hit to my health, but nothing a potassium-rich snack won't fix. But first, have to go back to patching that hole in the boat.
That taken care of, I decide I need to move my ship around the island so I don't— WHAM! WHAM! More holes in the boat. It's getting serious. I start pulling up the sails so I can get ready to pivot away from the island rocks and get mov— WHAM! Knocked off of the rigging again. Eat a quick banana and go below to start repairing and bailing before I don't have a ship left.
I get the leaking under control — not completely fixed, but enough that I should be able to get the boat moving before I sink. I get on deck and try, once again, to lift the sails, and— WHAM! direct hit. I'm dead.
I respawn, with my boat miraculously still afloat, but with the hull holding out the water about as well as your average kitchen colander. The water has nearly filled the hold. I start bailing furiously and only manage to lower the water level an inch or so, and decide that I should probably at least patch up one hole so I can make some headway. I start pounding in a board, and WHAM! another flaming meteor knocks me out of position. I try again, but, despite my head still being above water, the insurance company has declared my vehicle a total loss. I can't repair. The boat starts to sink.
Now I'm on the beach of the island, trying to decide my next move. Dig up the chest? Nah, no point, nothing to store it in. I'll just get in my respawned boat and come back. I see the mermaid spawn offshore, and I run towards it. Just as my feet touch the water, I happen to glance up and see the firey tails of— WHAM! Another direct hit from the volcano. Dead again.
Waiting for the game to reload, I wonder where it will spawn me. Hopefully not too far away, so I don't have too long of a trek back to the island. I hear music. My vision clears.
Galleon's Grave Outpost.
Thus ends the tale of CyberKnight Versus the Volcano.
Epilogue: I sail back to the island to give it one more chance. All is quiet this time. I leave my ship and go ashore. Check the map, head for the approximate location of the X. Wait, what's that hissing noise? Gunpowder skeleton! Run! BOOM! The explosion knocks me up into the air and sideways towards some rocks. I'm alive, but barely, with only a sliver of red remaining on my health bar. I look around, and all I can see are rocks. I'm standing in about an inch of water, completely surrounded by boulders, with the only way out too high for me to jump out of. I am completely stuck.
